Florida Medical Assistant Charged with Identity Theft

According to WFTV, Selina Rodriguez, a former medical assistant at Mid-Florida Urological Associates, has been charged with using data stolen from patient records to file fraudulent insurance claims for more than $100,000, claiming that some of the patients were her own children.

"Using computers at her workplace ... Rodriguez is accused of illegally accessing patient records from Orlando Health, the company that runs big hospitals that include Orlando Regional Medical Center," WFTV reports. "One of the victims was Austin Barnes. According to the family, he was hospitalized after he was thrown over the wall of a bounce house at Monkey Joes in Apopka and landed on his head. Investigators said Rodriguez claimed Austin was her son and used his stolen medical records to file an insurance claim. They said she collected nearly $37,000 dollars."

"Rodriguez allegedly accessed the patient records by using one of the physician’s passwords," PHIprivacy.net reports. "It’s not clear whether he knowingly shared his password with her or she obtained it via other means."